Day 9: Rest in Wonder

At 5:15 this morning, I was shivering slightly in a long sleeve tee and yoga pants, gazing up at the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia, and other constellations, waiting for my walking partner to arrive. And even then, we both took a moment to breathe out wonder at the stars sparkling brightly in the pre-dawn sky before beginning our walk.

The night sky has mesmerized me since childhood, but never passionately until I left home in the big city to attend college in a southern town on the edge of a mountain. In minutes you could be miles from city lights and the stars seemed to leap out at you from the Milky Way above.

It’s been a dream of mine to own a telescope ever since I got to view the moon, craters and all, from a friend’s telescope. The detail shocked and delighted me. After that, I bought a book about the constellations and how to watch the stars using my binoculars. It kind of became my thing, especially in one place we lived – every time the girls would get together at night, I’d bring my book and binoculars and we’d lie out on a tennis court or picnic table, sharing about our lives while we watched the stars. When time came to move from that community, we made a pact that we’d think of each other whenever we saw Cassiopeia. That happened this morning, even though I’ve lost touch with all but one of those gals.

So, if you haven’t guessed, I’m pretty crazy about the stars.😛

Photo credit: Wikipedia

The wild thing about beginning to look into the expanse of the heavens above us, is that you start to grasp just how small you are. Take time to watch these videos by Louis Giglio, that I call, If the Earth were the Size of a Golf Ball. It’s unfortunately split into two videos.

Part 1: Skip ahead to 6:31. The first 6 minutes are not part of the golf ball illustration.

Part 2: Hang in there to the end on this one. There’s a parade of planets and stars beginning at 5:39 that visually blows the mind and then the wrap up really makes you stop and wonder.

I do love the line in Part 2, where he says,

It’s not just twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. I’m telling you what you are, and what you are is intense and huge and massive and ferocious, is what you are.

We serve a crazy big God. The words escape me to try to describe how big the God is who created these massive stars. I’m not even talking about size big, but power big.

Come back down to your spot on the golf ball. Though we are tiny and frail, we have been created in the image of this Creator God. We have been fearfully and wonderfully made.

2 Comments

Ethel M Miller

You made me cry this morning, but you also turned my heart to the Great God who loves me, even when I don’t feel loved by “some” who are most important to me. I just poured out my heart in my journal, asking -begging for help to let go of past hurts that still have a sting and for present hurts that tear at my heart. Sounds pretty dramatic, doesn’t it?!! Only the Lord can heal me. He is the only One I can turn to. Why is it that when you are hurting is when you feel so alone, even in the midst of “community” ? How can one minute be a restful one and the next full of turmoil? Keep talking to us about your topic “REST”. Obviously we need to hear what encouragement you are inspired by our Father to give us. Bless you today, Janice.

Hi, I'm Janice. I'm part bookworm and part creative. I love both science and music (and the science of music). I'm stumbling around trying to grow closer to God. Click the photo to read more about me.

I’m so glad you’re here!

Thanks for taking time to read my posts in the midst of all the great blogs out in the blogosphere! If you like what you read, please follow me, or sign up to get my posts in your inbox.
I'd love to hear from you, so please leave a comment!

Subscribe to Claygirlsings

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.